Ghostly Pursuits

How to Get a Ghost to Show Itself (Field Tested)

Ghosts and creepy phenomena have always fascinated me. As a child, I held a firm belief that there was something beyond what was visible to normal human beings. As a result, I frantically wanted to be able to truthfully say I could see ghosts.

Many years later, here I am writing about my experience…

Honestly, I can confess that I have seen weird things I have no way to explain. Even then, my love for the shadowy supernatural has never faded. As a matter of fact, my desire to understand the mysterious side of life has been growing stronger.

More than ever, I am intrigued by dark and melancholic stories, haunted houses, tragic deaths, and legends that have survived for generations. Above all, I relish the opportunity of seeing ghosts. And from this personal experience, I have created a guide in an effort to show you how to get a ghost to show itself.

Visit a haunted place

Whether it is a cemetery, a haunted house or a historical site, you’ll have to choose a location that has had its share of weird happenings. Even if you reside in a country with no documentation of haunted places you can still bet on local stories and legends for guidance and inspiration.

Personally, I was able to identify 3 undocumented places – a haunted opera house, a haunted bridge and an intersection where people had reported hearing weird voices and seeing a shadowy figure of an old lady whenever the sun went down.

If you are living in a city, finding haunted places will be an easy endeavour because such locations are well known. Most of them are featured in year-round ghost tours so you’ll have the opportunity to visit regardless of the season if you are looking to spice up your ghost hunting experience.

Such tours can be cheesy because you have no idea of what to expect. My first and most memorable tour was in Fredericksburg, Virginia, a city whose walls still harbour holes from civil war canons. I visited a church whose history I no longer remember but I will never forget how the doors automatically slam shut behind us after getting in.

Don’t expect anything to happen for the first time

When I began ghost hunting, I was looking forward to seeing floating furniture and old ladies walking around in black flowing robes. However, it wasn’t the case. Over time, I have learned that most haunted scenes are less dramatic, which is a good thing for beginners.

Even if you don’t see a thing, I don’t mean that you can’t see ghosts. Maybe, you need a few days of practice and soon you will be in a position to see one.

Don’t force it

The golden rule is not to force it but to remain observant. Listen for absurd sounds and voices but don’t put too much emphasis on creakings and footsteps because all buildings produce such sounds. If you are keen enough, you will be in a position to identify sounds that are hard to explain.

In my personal experience, weird things have happened on reflective surfaces such as window panes, mirrors, and shiny surfaces. The freakiest thing that I have seen on a mirror so far was a reflection of a shadowy figure on our sliding glass door when I was a kid. I was walking out of a hallway towards a door that opened to a patio when I saw a reflection that I thought to be my mom.

When I turned back to say hi, she wasn’t there.

I quickly turned back to the door and I could see a clear reflection of a blond lady in a blue dress. I looked forth and back but no matter how many times I looked, there were only two people in the house. Me in a black tuxedo and the reflection in blue. How to get a ghost to show itself doesn’t have to be forced.

Take your time and be observant.

Have some basic ghost hunting equipment with you

If you only have the capacity to bring one thing for your ghost hunting expedition, let it be a camera. A high definition ghost hunting camera (and not the one in your phone) will come in handy in case the ghost gets to manifest itself. If you can, go ahead and bring a video camera or any other device that can record sound or video.

If you suspect that the house is haunted, you can leave a tape recorder for a whole in a room and see if it can pick up weird sounds or voices not supposed to be there.

If you’ll be bringing a voice recorder for your real-time expedition, keep it close since you never know when a ghost might decide to present itself. Ghostly voice recordings are known as electronic voice phenomena. Most of the times, they will be inform of spooky voices. If the ghost manifest, don’t fear to ask it friendly questions such as how it died or its name. Playback the recordings later to listen for possible answers.

Join a ghost hunting group near you to learn from more experienced ghost hunters

There is nothing as valuable as learning to get a ghost to appear from experienced ghost hunters. When I began ghost hunting many years ago, I strongly relied on a local ghost hunting group. Since my location never had documented places with a history of being haunted, this group hooked me up with a few places.

Were it not for them, I would never have gotten the chance to hunt for ghosts within my locality. If you do not have the necessary ghost hunting tools, you can borrow them from such groups or experienced ghost hunters who have dedicated their lives to ghost hunting.

Last words of warning

From my own experience, I strongly recommend that you go ghost hunting with your friends. This way, you will feel safer and in case you see a ghost, you will have a person to back your story up. Before entering a haunted place, make sure that you know where the emergency exits are and keep your phone near you since sometimes things can get out of hand.

Having said that, have fun but don’t forget to watch out for what might be behind you THIS VERY MINUTE!